We decided to go remote and ask our volunteers to carry out self-led timed species searches with at least 1 INNS species in their list.  Timed searches are short, focussed searches for specific species (important to survey for various reasons). They’re accessible surveys both in terms of time to complete, info collected, but also number of species to get to know before going to look for them. We try to fit them in at the end of group surveys, so this was a way to see if they could be used as a reason for our Shoresearchers to head to shore independently. It could, and a lot was spotted (luckily, not many INNS).

The shores visited by the group of volunteers (and some staff), spread across the North Wales region from Colwyn Bay to Aberdaron, Rhoscolyn to Cricieth (almost the limit of rocky shores in the area).

We carried out Timed species searches – looking for bladder wrack/gwymon codog bras (Fucus vessiculosus) 30mins; chinese mitten crab/cranc mynegog Tsieineaidd (Eriocheir sinensis) 30mins; honeycomb worm/llyngyren ddiliau (Sabellaria alveolata) 30mins; pacific oyster/wystrysen y Môr Tawel (Magallana gigas) 150mins; serrated wrack/gwymon danheddog (Fucus serratus) 30 mins; slipper limpet/mochyn ewin/ (Crepidula fornicata) 150mins; toothed topshell/top môr trwchus (Phorcus lineatus) 70mins; volcano barnacle (Perforatus perforatus) 60mins; wakame/morwiail asennog (Undaria pinnatifida) 30mins; wireweed/sargaswm (Sargassum muticum) 30mins. 

Also, some not on the WT Shoresearch Irish Sea list, but which have been/will be incorporated into Shoresearch Cymru – Oyster thief (Colpomenia peregrina) 20mins.

Number of Volunteers - 8

Seasonal findings – We mentioned warming currents bringing in some exotic species last month, but our seas are warming in general and species are moving more permanently, as a result. As well as many other threats which are combined with Climate change, these warming waters are changing the species which can live here and that is one of the themes for the species searched for in our Timed searches. The Climate Change Indicators (CCI) the list covers are warm water-loving species moving into North Wales waters from the South. Our other surveys, over time might help to document changes to our cold water-inclined species reducing their presence here as well.

Species feature:

Many of our volunteers were searching for toothed topshell/top môr trwchus (Phorcus lineatus). A CCI species on the timed searches list for the Irish sea. Importantly, very few are found north of North Wales – this is a species on the move right now and is a focus of another locally led survey by Ecostructure. Find out more here. It’s also part of our level 1 Shoresearch Cymru online and on-shore training (more news on that in the New Year).

Kim describes finding only purple top shells for all her 4 lots of 10 minutes. Right as the alarm rang she found her first toothed top shell, but then discovered something about her local shore and about these animals……………..

It was fascinating…………. After that [I] noticed absolutely scads of them, but they preferred the smallish bare loose rocks without large algae or barnacles and these were situated all along the base of the cliff. The Toothed Tops here were about an inch across and sitting very prominently as if to say ’How could you miss us!!’ It seems they may be fussy. I have learnt something.

Sue Timperley, like many of our searchers, found none of the species she was looking for (which, for the INNS species, is what we hope to be the case). Many of our searchers, found this time out on the shore revealing and exciting, despite the negative results and Sue found, what seems to be a sea squirt which finds her, these days - the baked bean sea squirt. Always a lovely find, these are squirts which like to hang out together, but are not colonial. Sue’s got her eye in, which is ideally what we’re hoping the new Shoresearch Cymru training will help more volunteers to do.

One of our searchers, Reece Halstead found an attached bullhuss egg low on shore. Often these are found unattached and empty after the baby shark has grown enough to burst out of this tough case. There are a good few shark species in the UK which lay eggs and which are the focus of our eggcase hunts in 2022.

We’re part of the new Project Siarc (which incorporates many other organisations, include The Shark Trust) where we will be collecting archive information and carrying out eggcase hunts to get to know and share more about our shark species. So, keep an eye out for more information, coming soon.

And talking of sharks, another of our timed searchers,  Kim Atkinson (Kim is the wildlife artist who leads on the art part of our Snŵdling events – snorkelling and doodling) found a small spotted catsharks/morgi (Scyliorhinus canicula) in a rockpool on her last 10 minutes of the second day doing a timed search! What an amazing find, especially to see one living, healthy and relatively relaxed while it waited for the tide to return. Many of us see these dead on shore, as they are caught out by tides, fished out, or predated on. Although, not the ideal views, these times allow us to get a close up view of the many remarkable features of our sharks (=many). These sharks are one of several coastal species and can be seen occasionally on a Shoresearch (we found one once, alive in the shallows at Llandudno Pier). They are what many call dogfish and grow to about 90cm. You really need to check the mouth and nasal area to tell them apart from their cousin the larger bullhuss (greater-spotted catshark)/morgi brych (Scyliorhinus stellaris).

Watch Kim's video here. 

Like all sharks, their skin is embedded with teeth-type plates called denticles, all facing one way providing more steamlining to that already streamlined body shape and they have all sorts of senses to allow them success in finding food and avoiding predation. They are, like all sharks, encumbered by breeding relatively later in life, producing few young. This, together with very little protection, means sharks as a group are incredibly vulnerable.

A post script here, as some of our volunteers couldn’t make the weekend, so went out the following one. This was post Storm Arwen and landed them in the middle of a Beached! type event. Plenty of reports across the North coast of North Wales of starfish species, crabs, molluscs and more they never know lived, or lived as bountifully in our seas. Emma Lowe found nothing on her timed search for slipper limpets and pacific oyster, but plenty on the shore afterwards (see the gallery for both weekend’s other finds).

Thank you, to all our Shoresearchers, for carrying out these self-led surveys.

The Shoresearch surveys are designed to help monitor some areas of shore by volunteers recording what they find using various types of surveys. Training is given to the volunteers who sign up to help us carry out these surveys.

We are liaising with other organisations to hone these surveys, so they become a vital tool in the help to monitor wildlife in our intertidal areas. Whilst they can also help to introduce volunteers to the species which live in this intertidal zone, the ideal is to build up some regular teams to regularly survey certain areas, building a clearer picture over the long term and in particular to keep an eye out for Invasive species and Climate change indicators.

If you would like to join us to volunteer your time at our repeated survey sites, then please get in touch. It is likely to be just one 2-3 hr session out on shore once every month at the least, as well as any time you can spare to do online training or website reading. 

Want to help with Shoresearch volunteering

Of course, feel free to help in other ways too via becoming a member, donating or buying a gift membership for someone. Thank you.

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